Nov 22, 2012

Singapore - Singapore wants India to play larger role in broader ASEAN region

NEW DELHI: Singapore would like to further cooperate with India in the field of
defence, and would like to see the country play a larger role in the broader
ASEAN region.

Those were the key messages that
Defence Minister Ng Eng Hen expressed to his Indian counterpart A.K. Antony and
other Indian officials.

Dr Ng is on a two-day
introductory visit to the Indian capital.

His first port of call was the
Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis, a New Delhi think-tank, where he
addressed senior defence and foreign affairs officials and academics.

In his speech, Dr Ng said India
had a historic connection with the ASEAN region and that it should play a
leadership role in the Asia-Pacific.

"India already participates
closely in the EAS, the ARF, the ADMM-Plus and the Shangri-La Dialogue. India's
perspectives and leadership would add to the balance of interests in the
region. India's greater engagement of Southeast Asia, through meaningful
multilateral engagement and a strong web of bilateral relationships, would also
serve India's strategic and economic interests in the future," he said.

Dr Ng was accorded a ceremonial
welcome at the Indian Defence Ministry, where he met his Indian counterpart
A.K. Antony.

The two leaders spoke about
increasing interaction between the Singapore and Indian armed forces.

Dr Ng also met India's President
Pranab Mukherjee, National Security Advisor Shiv Shankar Menon, and other
officials including Rahul Gandhi, the General Secretary of India's ruling
Congress Party.

Dr Ng said: "We're looking
for concrete ways, deliverables, things that we can do. Minister Anthony
expressed his desire to see our three services interact even more, and I fully
concurred with him, and we'll go back and do some staff work in terms of how we
can step that up."

The Singapore and Indian armed
forces already conduct joint training exercises and interact through policy
dialogues, high-level visits and professional exchanges.

The levels of cooperation between
the militaries of the two nations, and those of India and other ASEAN
countries, are set to improve further.

Dr Ng's visit to India highlights
a desire to see greater Indian participation in fora like the ASEAN Defence
Ministers' Meeting Plus and the Shangri-La Dialogue. It was also an opportunity
to reaffirm the strong defence ties between the two nations.

- CNA/de

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